I had just landed in San Francisco from London, bags barely unpacked, excited to take my ad agency career to the next level, when BAM – a global pandemic hit.

 

Instead of exploring my gorgeous new city with a row of glamorous new friends like I had announced back home, I found myself locked in an expensive, windowless apartment, armed with nothing but my imagination, a fully stocked bar and an over-caffeinated brain. That's when the magic started happening...

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Now, in 2025, I'm about to finish writing my first novel – a magical Alpine thriller with elements of romance. ​​I can't wait to share this book with you. But while that's in editing, I'm here to geek out with you through my book recommendations blog.

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Enter The Great Avantgarda, aka. The Salty Seer

The Blog is hosted by my alter ego (and larger-than-life side character in my novel), The Great Avantgarda. On my website, this whacky fictional alchemist runs a Literary Manifestations & Book Thirst Trap Research Lab. Whether you're looking for the best Romantasy, Thriller or Mystery Book recommendations with touches of magic and romance, Avantgarda/ I are here to guide you through an equally enchanting and disturbing world where reality, magic and thrills intertwine. She has also finally agreed to make some of her fiction-inspired potions, spells and home decor items available for sale - please stay tuned for her Fantasy Living Collection and Book Boyfriend Bazaar.

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My reading background

I've always been the kind of reader who lives half in reality, half in fantasy. As the eldest of five siblings, I grew up in Berlin, Germany, weaving stories for my four lil sisters, watching their eyes light up at tales of epic friendships and PG7 romance. Pure magic.
In a family where we women outnumbered our dad six to one, I developed an insatiable appetite for stories with strong female protagonists.

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Witchy Fantasy Book Recommendations

I especially enjoyed books about women finding their power – starting with Hermione Granger, and quickly devolving by way of the Owens sisters in Practical Magic and Outlander (my sister named our red cat Jamie September for the sexy romance book hero ;). Later I sunk my teeth into darker stories of magical inheritance and destined soulmates, like Diana Bishop's journey in A Discovery of Witches and Anne Rice's The Mayfair Witches. Magically endowed neurosurgeon & STEM-heroine extraordinaire Rowan always reminds me of my two doctor sisters (so proud - and yes, as a marketing-sell-out I'm the black sheep of the family). 

 

Fantasy Thriller Book Recommendations

But, as alluded to above, I also have a darker side. I just finished Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and Ninth House and I'm obsessed with her irreverent characters and sense of humor. And I'm digging into Sarah J. Maas' Crescent City Series - it combines romantasy and an investigation - right up my alley and creepily similar in that way to the book I'm writing. Especially now, in times of audiobooks,  I'm super drawn to thrillers, they just hold my attention the best. Gillian Flynn is my spirit guide—whilst her writing style is sometimes a little stark, both the books and the film adaptations of "Sharp Objects" are a masterclass in small-town psychological darkness, where the investigation is as twisted as the relationships, the police hopelessly ineffective and the amateur sleuth is perturbingly, messily human. Tarryn Fisher is a new discovery, I devoured "The Wives" in a day and love her way of making you feel right in the mystery and HAVING to know what happens next.

 

In other dark, atmospheric tones, since I'm a lifetime J. K. Rowling fan, of course I loved her (pen-named Robert Galbraith) Cormoran Strike series - especially love the slow burn romantic friction amongst the two detectives.

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Fantasy Suspense TV shows

My TV binges follow a similarly concerning path. For example, I love investigative shows like The Killing, where the detectives are deliciously rough around the edges and the chemistry is an enemies-to-lovers extraordinaire. Or Netflix's Gotham and the first two seasons of the Umbrella Academy - dark, supernatural, with romance and magic thrown in. Perfection! ​​

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I'm always happy to chat ANYTHING storytelling-related - email me at any hour to discuss.